


In waiting

by AmkiTakk



Category: Granblue Fantasy (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-11
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-07-29 14:20:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16265981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmkiTakk/pseuds/AmkiTakk
Summary: So Sandalphon will wait for Lucifer, no matter how long it takes. And most importantly, he won't do it alone.(series of connected-but-maybe-not-chronological short stories)





	1. Sandalphon's thoughts

**Author's Note:**

> Not beta'd and will update whenever I feel like it. Title might change if I find a better one...  
> If you have prompts and/or ideas you'd like to see in this fic, or just wanna talk, feel free to hit me up @AmkiTakk on twitter!

Primal beasts do not die, they merely fall into a very, very deep slumber.

It doesn't make the crushing loneliness that comes when they fall asleep hurt any less, though.

  
  
  
  


When you live as long as Sandalphon, you inevitably forget things. He knows he has forgotten many things over his life. The day of his creation. Many of the peaceful days he spent doing nothing but laze around in the sun, waiting for a certain someone. The way the stone of the labs felt, or what most of the Astral scientists looked like, their faces all merging in his head.

He's also forgotten many of the experiments, but it might just be because he was in so much pain at the time that he blacked out. Who knows.

 

Anyway, Sandalphon has forgotten many things. Some mundane, some very much not. But there is one thing he will never forget.

 

_ His legs shake as he sits on cold tile. Trembling hands slowly reach out to what used to be the brightest being he's ever seen. _

_ Now, he's just a head. He wasn't even allowed his dignity in death, the rest of his body—along with his core, taken away to some horrible place. And yet, as his gentle voice resonates all around him, the last of his power enveloping him like a blanket both comforting and suffocating, he hears no resentment, only endless melancholy and regret. _

 

_ “What makes the sky blue?” _

 

_ As Lucifer's last words pierces through his chest right into his core, Sandalphon weeps. _

 

The rational part of him knows that this is temporary, that Lucifer, wherever he is, slumbers(peacefully, he hopes, he deserves at least that much for what Sandalphon put him through), and that he will eventually come back, for Primal beasts do not die, they merely sleep. Sandalphon knows that.

And yet it hurts all the same.

In a way, it's  _ because _ he knows that, that it hurts so much. Because one day Lucifer will come back. When a mortal dies, it is definitive. It is sad, because their loved ones will never see them again. But also, eventually, those loved ones will learn to accept that death and move on with their lives, never forgetting the deceased, but accepting that this is final.

But when the 'deceased' will inevitably come back, is moving on truly an option? Sandalphon feels like it would be just another betrayal added to the pile. Like he was giving up on Lucifer, who never gave up on him even after his rampage, who patiently waited until Sandalphon felt ready to leave the cocoon he so carefully made just for him in hope of soothing his heart. Who was bested because he was so busy watching over the cradle that he did not sense the looming danger.

 

So Sandalphon will wait for Lucifer, no matter how long it takes, or how much the both of them may have changed when Lucifer finally wakes. No matter what happens, he will do everything in his power to make sure Lucifer never suffers again from Sandalphon's own mistakes.

 

He will wait, but he won't neglect his duties as the new Supreme Primarch. And most importantly, he won't do it alone. That too, is a promise to Lucifer, although he made that one later, after some(read: a lot of) pushing from  _ some _ people.

He's grateful for it.


	2. Lucifer's thoughts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer muses.

When you live as long as Lucifer, you inevitably forget things. Uneventful moments, routine, details deemed unimportant, which may or may not later come up when they turn out to be of utmost importance. But even among those things, some memories stand out more than others. The blue expanse of the skies, the unique taste of coffee and equally unique grimace of one particular archangel as he tastes it for the first time, the small blue flowers he helped grow in the garden(their garden), soft brown wings to match soft brown hair, his innocent curiosity(when did he stop asking questions on everything?), his blinding smile(when did that light start hiding such darkness?), the way he enthusiastically called his name(when did his name start sounding like something bitter, not like the coffee they often shared together, but like poison aimed right at his core?)…

 

Objectively speaking, as an archangel without purpose, Sandalphon should have been considered unimportant enough to eventually fade from Lucifer's memories. And maybe he was considered as such by many.

But not by Lucifer.

 

The moment his eyes first landed on his creation as he manifested from his cradle, Lucifer knew that this one would be special. His lack of purpose would give him complete freedom(or so he thought, but it only brought him despair and a sense of uselessness) and his complex and unsealed core would give him as much emotional depth as skydwellers(including feelings of abandonment and loathing). Lucifer made him to be a teacher of sorts to himself. Someone who could teach him to truly understand skydwellers on a personal level simply by existing, rather than theoretically from observing them from afar.

And, more selfishly, Lucifer wanted Sandalphon to teach him how to  _ feel _ as he does.

 

In the end, that selfishness caused many disasters.

 

And for that, he must repent.


	3. Late-night coffee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One night, one coffee, one sleepwalking girl.

Sandalphon is solitary by nature. After all, even when he still had regular...contacts, it had only been with one person.

 

(He does not count being a lab rat to merciless scientists as “socializing”.)

 

That's why, when he finds himself forced to stay on the Grandcypher to recover after his fight with the monstrosity that was the Avatar, he makes it clear to everyone that he doesn't want to interact with them unless strictly necessary. They accept his terms but, as it turns out, their definition of “necessary” is a bit different from his.

In the end, that's what saves him, though.

 

The whole Grandcypher is quiet. The opposite would be surprising considering the hour, which would be called “unholy” by some. He supposes that, to someone who needs to sleep to survive, this would be true, but while Primal Beasts can feel exhaustion and can sleep to make it better, they don't actually need to sleep. So Sandalphon doesn't, and brews himself some coffee instead using  _ his _ beans.

(And, anyway, he'd rather feel perpetually tired than have to relive that same scene again, and again, and again…)

At this hour, Sandalphon doesn't care much about keeping his guard up, considering everyone is asleep aside from a few nocturnal ones who know to stay clear of him anyway. That's why he doesn't feel another presence enter the kitchen until he hears a tired “Sandalphon…?” that he will forever refuse to admit made him jump in his chair.

He turns his head towards the door to see a barely-awake blue-haired girl, clutching her pillow as if she forgot it wasn't actually glued to her hand.

 

“Girl in Blue” he starts

 

“Lyria”

 

“Girl in Blue,” he continues as if he didn't hear her, she pouts, “what are you doing here at this hour?”

 

She seems confused for a moment, as if she also had no idea what she was doing here. Was she sleepwalking and then woke up when she entered the kitchen?

 

“Hmm...” she looks at the ceiling as if it holds all the answers she needs, “it smelled good, so I came...”

 

_ Ah, of course. Guided by her stomach even in her sleep. _ He sighs.

 

“Can I have some?”

 

“No”

 

“Please?”

 

“No”

 

“Pretty please?”

 

Really, Sandalphon swears if this crew continues to make him sigh so much he will actually deflate from having sighed all the air in his body.

 

“Only one sip or you won't be able to fall back asleep” he says as he slides his cup to where the young girl is sitting down, right next to him ( _ really? Right here? There is room everywhere else on that table and she decides to sit right next to him? _ ).

 

She smiles at him. “Are you worried I'll mess up my sleep schedule?”

He immediately bristled at that.

“No, but if you don't get your 10 hours of sleep you'll start complaining about being tired and knowing the Singularities they'll either stop everything and claim to also be tired or they'll make me hold you as you treat me like your own personal teddy bear  _ again _ and  _ stop smiling like that damn it-- _ ”

She definitely doesn't stop smiling and his face keeps getting hotter and hotter and Sandalphon realizes he's been had again. He's been easier to rile up lately and  _ some people _ have taken advantage of it.

 

Well, his anger has also become more for show. Nowadays it is usually frustration and embarrassment at most, rather than the kind of anger he felt towards the world and himself when he first arrived, the kind that would leave his head boiling and his stomach freezing all at once, and that was gradually destroying him from the inside.

Lyria, loathe as he is to admit, helped a lot with that. She often did it by forcing his hand, sometimes gently, sometimes less so, but in the end he learned to stop bottling everything inside as much.

Gran and Djeeta also helped, in their own ways. Gran by respecting his personal space but still checking in on him regularly, and Djeeta by being her usual chatty self and pushing him out of his comfort zone(but not too much, Gran made sure of that, he knows better than anyone that his twin can sometimes be a bit overbearing without realizing it).

 

He won't give them the satisfaction of admitting it aloud, but he is grateful to them.

 

Lyria keeps the cup in her hands for a while, her pillow on the chair on her other side. If he was in a worse mood, Sandalphon would have told her to hurry it up and go back to sleep, but he just got done being cheesy in his head so he instead enjoys the quiet and cozy atmosphere.

 

When she decides she warmed her hands enough, Lyria brings the cup to her lips, takes a small sip.

And makes a comically amazing grimace.

 

“How is it?” he asks, knowing very well that, at this very moment, she wishes to drown herself in sugar to get rid of the bitter taste of the black coffee.

 

“It's...good” she says, still visibly cringing.

He smirks and gets up from the table to get something from the cupboard. He comes back just as quickly with a bar of milk chocolate that he swaps with the cup of coffee.

“Don't tell Katalina” he says simply as he takes back his cup. She nods enthusiastically while eating her bar of chocolate.

 

Later, when he goes back to his room after making sure Lyria was back in her own bed(she tried to follow him to his, possibly to use him as a teddy bear again, but he was strict about that: she will sleep in her own bed and that's final...or at least for now it is, maybe one day, when he is not plagued by nightmares anymore, he may indulge her), he briefly considers sleeping, but ultimately decides against it and takes a book he'd started reading earlier that week. It isn't really his favourite genre, far from it actually and, in his opinion, some of the characters are infuriatingly badly-written. But it passes time, time that he won't spend reliving the same exact moment for the nth time.


	4. Tea and Coffee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coffee time used to be a private moment for Sandalphon.  
> Keyword is used to.

Coffee time used to be a private moment for Sandalphon, where he could relax away from the boisterous crew and enjoy a nice cup of coffee made with Lucifer's _—_ _their_ beans.

Keyword is _used to_.

 

Just like every one of his "personal moments", it quickly became a public thing. It's not that he dislikes them, but they're all so very _tiring_ to be with sometimes. The crew is full of excitable, talkative, or just plain strange individuals who, while they usually have good hearts, end up being very _loud_ if allowed to interact with each other. He just wishes they'd allow him some alone time from time to time.

Though he guesses this was unavoidable considering who the captains of this crew are.

 

But, like many things, he learned to live with it. (The day he admits that, sometimes, he actually enjoys their time together is the day islands will stop floating and will fall down into the Crimson Horizon _—_ not because of him this time.)

So now, he is sitting at what used to be an empty table, various people sitting to his left, right, and in front of him. Nobody is talking to him(or at least, those who are know they won't be getting any answer today) and he finds himself reading another book, non-fiction this time. It is an encyclopedia containing many species of birds; the page he's currently on shows a small bird with very familiar wings. A sparrow.

Sandalphon wonders why Lucifer decided to give him those wings, so unusual compared to the usual pure white wings angels have. He supposes this will be one of many questions for when Lucifer comes back...whenever this could be.

 

To his left sits Io, who seems to be trying to copy Rosetta's posture as they chat side-by-side over some tea. Io's imitation being awkward at best, Rosetta gives her some tips on how to properly hold herself and her cup as elegantly as possible for a kid like her.

"Now now, that's too stiff. You don't want to hurt your back, dear."

"Ugh, being a lady is so difficult," says Io as she proceeds to slump while letting out a defeated sigh, which only makes Rosetta laugh.

 

Sandalphon's opinion of Rosetta is pretty good, all things considered. They both respect each other, and get along well enough the few times they do interact together, and she thankfully hasn't tried to mother him too much, so that's a relief. Being fussed over makes him quite uncomfortable, especially coming from someone younger...though he'll have to admit she probably has a lot more life experience than him, what with how long he spent in isolation either in the garden, the lab, and then Pandemonium.

 

Io, on the other hand... To be honest, Sandalphon's relationship with the young Io is...complicated. She's not necessarily a bad person, and her intentions are good, but the girl has a tendency to hit right where it hurts...violently, and while her tough love sometimes works, she hasn't quite mastered the art that is the combination of tact and good timing, so it often ends up hurting much more instead. Sandalphon is no weakling by any means, but he admits that on bad days, he tends to avoid talking to her. He'd rather not take his grief and anger out on a kid just because she pushed all the wrong buttons while trying to help.

Today is...a not-so-bad day, so he tolerates Io getting in his personal space to look at what he's reading.

"You like birds, Sandalphon?"

"They're okay. I just took the first book I found," he answers as he slowly pushes her away and back into her own chair.

"Hmm. And this isn't boring you?" she says as leans closer again to look at the page he's on :the feeding habits of the sparrow. "Oh hey this one looks like you."

"Our only common trait is our wings."

"Eh. Draw angry eyebrows on it and it's you—ow"

"Don't draw on books," he says as she rubs her forehead, that he just flicked.

"Spoilsports."

"Thug."

"Hey! I'm a lady, not a thug!"

"Ladies don't damage books."

 

They squabble like that for a little while, getting some amused looks from the other people present, until both their cups are empty and she goes to play with Lyria on deck. By then, most people have left save a few. He goes to wash his cup, soon joined by Rosetta who brings both hers and Io's.

"You two fight like siblings, it's cute."

He quirks an eyebrow at her comment.

"I don't know how siblings act but I doubt it," he says as they both wash their respective cups in the sink, "How would you even know anyway? We're not exactly made to have families."

She smiles cryptically.

"I may not have experienced it exactly, but I've certainly seen it."

He has nothing to say to that other than a doubtful "if you says so" so they keep going in companionable silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this ends too abruptly but I'm not sure how else I could end this haha welp


	5. Melody

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A long time ago, in a certain place, a melodious voice would echo against pure white stone pillars. Sometimes, the sound of a harp would accompany it. Sometimes, another harp would join in as well, notes awkward and uncertain, but beautiful in their own way. The gentle song would harmonize with the chirping of sparrows and the rustle of leaves, creating a soothing melody that would put the most ferocious of primal beasts to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "But amki" I hear you say "wasn't there already a chapter 5? What happened to it?"
> 
> ...Nothing you can prove.
> 
> (In other words, I didn't like it and felt like it didn't fit the general tone of this fic, so I deleted it)

A long time ago, in a certain place, a melodious voice would echo against pure white stone pillars. Sometimes, the sound of a harp would accompany it. Sometimes, another harp would join in as well, notes awkward and uncertain, but beautiful in their own way. The gentle song would harmonize with the chirping of sparrows and the rustle of leaves, creating a soothing melody that would put the most ferocious of primal beasts to sleep.

Although there were two people, there was always but one voice, to be heard by but one person, though they didn't know it was a privilege reserved for them and them alone.

 

Just like for their coffee time together, the angel never realized how blessed he was until it was too late.

 

 

__

 

 

When he left to join the rebellion, he left everything behind except the his sword and the clothes on his back. Everything had to stay back ~~home~~ at the laboratory, because it wouldn't help the cause.

But mostly, because he knew that as soon as he looked at the harp, he would be reminded of his time in the garden with the only important person in his eyes. He would remember the way they would play together, and the way _his_ voice would enchant every living being in the garden, himself included. And then, he knows, he would immediately go back.

 

Maybe he should have, in hindsight. Maybe then, the tragedy that followed could have been avoided.

 

 

__

 

 

Or maybe, it couldn't have. Maybe _he_ was destined to perish either way. Maybe he was going to become the “new” Supreme Primarch, just as that Astral had planned.

But maybe, he thinks, at least _he_ could have died knowing he wasn't hated.

If the true Supreme Primarch was really destined to die, then the spare's biggest regret was not telling him that no, he didn't really hate him. No, he didn't resent him.

No, the archangel simply wanted to be looked at.

 

~~Please look at me, Lu~~

 

The harp stays in now unknown ruins, forgotten.

 

 

__

 

 

It is the Girl in Blue's idea to come back to the ruins he had whisked her away to, some time ago. He really doesn't understand why, at first. Is that her way to get back at him for everything he has done to her and her friends? He wouldn't blame her if she did, he wanted nothing more than to be punished for everything. For abandoning him, for throwing a tantrum that almost destroyed the skyrealm, for refusing to even try to talk to him while he was in the cradle, knowing he was being watched.

This place reminds him of every single one of his sins, yet his self-hatred is quickly stopped by the look she gives him. Her eyes are free of any loathing, but full of confidence, and her smile brings temporary peace to his agitated heart.

They've both come a long way since they've met.

 

They've come in a small party of three, composed of himself, the Girl in Blue, and one of the Singularities. He finds it ironic that, of everyone, the two people he is with are the ones he wronged the most directly : one he kidnapped then used as a bargaining chip, while the other he quite literally threw off a cliff, his twin soon to follow him in hopes of saving him.

The Singularity...Gran (he's really trying to call them by their names more often, but old habits die hard) is quiet, as he is wont to do, but still alert for any potential monster while...Lyria looks around for that “something” she felt a while back. She couldn't tell them what it was exactly, other than it felt “like him but also not”, so he “absolutely had to come with!”. He is perplexed, to say the least, but indulges her anyway. She's become quite the weak point for him, he has trouble saying no to her, nowadays.

A small “ah” takes him out of his musings, and catches Gran's attention as well.

As they both approach her, she points to a particularly big pile of rubble.

“I think...no, I'm sure it's under there.”

Now that he thinks about it, he does feel some kind of very faint energy underneath all that rubble. He initially wrote it off as some residual energy left all over the ruins. With Gran's help, they carefully remove the various stones and fallen pillars until almost nothing is left.

They're not even done removing the last of the rubble before Lyria hurries right in the middle of it all and crouches down. He looks curiously and almost drops the stone he was holding right on his own foot.

There's a very, very familiar harp there, but that's not the most surprising.

 

Because right next to it, is a core.

Not any core either, he knows that core better than anyone. Or rather, he knew the one it belonged to more than anyone.

This is _his_ core. _Lucifer's_ core.

 

__

 

 

Sometimes, on the Grandcypher, in the dead of night, the sound of a harp is heard in the wind. If you're particularly lucky, you could even hear a soft, barely audible voice accompanying it. But you probably wouldn't be the one who is being sung to. After all, the Supreme Primarch sings for but one person.

As Sandalphon's voice drifts in the wind, the core placed right next to him glows faintly, its light gently pulsing in rhythm with the harp's melody, as if singing with him. Though it has no voice, Sandalphon hears it in his heart. He thinks it is quite the beautiful melody.

 

One day, he would like to sing to Lucifer, like Lucifer sang to him all those millennia ago.


End file.
